Wichita eagle., 1887-05-24
MAKING MATCHES.
HOW MATRIMONIAL AGENCIES 90
THEIR WORK IN PARIS,

HOW MATRIMONIAL AGENCIES 90
THEIR WORK IN PARIS.
Their Ramincations Found in All Spheres
Of Soeiety-Ths Discoveries Made by
the Secondary Assnts"-Hov Match
- Made.
There are at the present moment in
Paris between fifty and sixty serious mat
rimonial agencies, having ramifcations
in all spheres Of society. Furthermore,
% per cent. Of the marriages in the middle
and upper classes Of Paris are arranged
by these agencies. This Is a fact which
has been established by careful inquiry.
Now, let Us see how the agency is organ
lied and how the machinery works.
Anatols desires to marry. He does not
know q girl that will suit him; his friends
cannot help him; the usages Of Partisan
life prevent him from making acquaint-
ances among marriageabls maidens. He
therefore goes to an agency and says, we
will suppose, to the manager:
'Monsisur, am 81 years Of age; am
an employe In the Bilateral Filter COM
pany; earn $50 month, but hope to get
an increase next year. Can you find me
nice young wife, pretty, bright and an
orphan! do not care to have . mother
in-law, and don't mind If the young
lady is not q musician"
The matrimonial agent looks over his
books, reflects, and replies:
Monsieur, think can just fix you.
Lady, 20 years of age, agreeable exterior,
small horse near Dijon, expectations
S., 800, daughter of a retired military
man, excellent pianist"
Anatols accepts at once, and two
months later he Is married and happy,
and his excellent wife, who knows
nothing about the Intervention Of the dis
Greet agency, exclaims in Q moment OF
expansion: my AnatOls, what q lucky
idea that yea stopped at Dion on your
way to Gensval Had 1t not been for that
we might never have metz
ROW DID 1T HAPPEN,
Now comes the question. How did the
matrimonial agent know that this modest
and honorable spinster was waiting for q
husband on the outskirts of Dion, The
answer is, because he has correspondents
all over France, who send him informa-
ton and exercise sort Of secret police on
his account. In the provinces, everybody
knows everything about everybody else,
and it il easy for the correspondents Of the
matrimonial agents to note that Mile. A.
has inherited $50, 900, that Mile. B. has
weakness for lawyers, and that Nile. @.
has refused to take the veil Very good"
ysu will say. Now tell me how the
matrimonial agent manages to bring the
young people together" This is precisely
the point wnsrs the genius comes into
play, aided often by an obliging priest.
The matrimonial agent has under his
agents, who may be classified under seven
headings, viz, scouts, entertainers having
homes, permanent or temporary inquiry
agents. travellers, followers, introducers,
and conscious or unconscious intermedi-
aries
The chief scout Of first class Partisan
matrimonial agency was formerly body
servant Of Cavour; he married the cham
bermaid Of fashionable beauty Of the
court Of Napoleon III; and now he
and his wife earn in their new profess
sion g 900 . year. Their business Is
to discover marriageble girls and TO re-
port them at headquarters; the ex-valet
Of Cavour gossips at cafes with men ser
wants in rich families: he learns the modus
vivandi Of each family; he gets the names
Of all the friends OF family. and, il neces-
sary, the names Of the friends Of the
friends; thanks TO this information the
chief matrimcuia! agent is able to dis
cover among these names either that OF q
person affiliated with the agency, or else
an unconscious agent who will introduce
his client to the family Of the young lady
whose hand and dowry are to be Won
AGENTS OF THE LOOKOUT.
Travellers are agents sent to the
provinces, and especially to the seaside or
to watering places, on some special mis-
sion. Followers are volunteer agents who
go to maria ,ss and midday masses in the
Paris churches, remark young girls &C
companied by their mothers, follow them
to their homes, and by dint OF patience
discover who they are, what they are
worth, and 50 constitute sort of dossier
or brief, winch they sell to an agency.
Conscious Intermediates are financial
agents, solicitors or nOtariss whose bust
ness enables them TO collect in
formation OF . private kind AS for
the unconscious agents, they are
created by the conscious interme-
diary, who calls upon . friend Of
tho family about which information is re-
quirsd, sr upon . doctor or q priest who
is In relations with that family This CON
scious intermediary has An honorable
social position; he apologies for intruding
and says that he has been sent TO ask for
information in view Of a marriage much
desired by person whom he is not yet at
liberty 10 maine. The family is puzzled,
wonders who the mysterious person may
be and answers vaguely, perhaps, but
sufficiently 10 enable the agency TO know
what are the desires Of the family. Then.
il the agency has not on il books . client
capable Of realizing those desires, it is but
. poor agency.
The bride rarely knows that she has
been won through the Intermediary Of an
agency 1t is only the very richly lowered
who are aware Of the existence Of this
complicated and mysterious machinery
and who are therefore tempted TO see in
every young man with whom they waltz
client OF q matrimonial agency which Is
seeking to earn its usual commission on
the dowry. Thanks TO the extension Of
the operations Of matrimonial agencies,
French marriages in the middle and upper
classes tend more aud moro 70 become
merely operations OF loveless and arith-
mstica multiplication Cor. New
York Sun
49, r4l1